Information Central

With 3 kids and our busy lives, it is often crazy to keep track of everyone's schedules. We have soccer practices, soccer games, tennis lessons, swimming lessons, softball games, tickets to baseball games, etc. It gets insane. So..what's a busy mom to do? I got a GIANT calendar that I hang in my kitchen and it keeps ALL our information. I have found this great calendar really works for me. I am not in any way affiliated with this organization - but just found this great resource at More Organized Mom.


The calendar is BIG. It is 11X17 and hangs on the wall using those big "L" hooks. It is great. There is space for everything we are doing, all the stuff we need to bring to preschool and school that day, and I use it to list what we are having for dinner each night. It is spiral bound and only printed on one side - so it is easy to flip ahead and add all your important dates and events.

I have been using it for 3 years, and it really works for me. For more tips, head on over to "We are That Family".

Talent???

In a month we leave for our annual week at the beach with friends. Yes, 14 adults and 14 kids will soon invade a beach house in Corolla, NC. CANNOT WAIT!

This year, we have decided to start a tradition of a family talent show. I think this could be really fun - but have NO idea where to start. Any ideas? Remember - we have 3 kids ages 7, (almost)5, and 2 1/2. The 2 1/2 year old is the real sticking point. Anyone got any cute ideas of something we can all do? Doesn't have to be long - 3-5 minutes is fine. Rock Band has been ruled not acceptable as family talent (which sucks, cuz we could do that!)

Budget Fashion

I have spoken before about my love for Goodwill and consignment shopping. Well, over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam, they proposed a challenge to show your stuff. So here we go. This is a $10.99 dress from Goodwill, and some $14.75 shoes from Loemann's clearance. Gotta love it!

The Budget Fashionista shows off more of her finds, here! Check it out!

Pit Stop

Ok, I found out something a week ago that seriously changed my life. Do you ever see those women on the beach (or just wearing sleeveless clothes) that have perfectly shaved arm pits. I mean, it looks like there has never ever been hair under those arms?? It makes me crazy, and wondering what I am doing wrong. I have always assumed they waxed their underarms - something I could never imagine doing. But now I know the secret!!!

Do not shave your underarms in one direction. I have always shaved them from up to down. But if you shave them both up AND down and Side to side you will get rid of all the hair!!! Apparently arm pit hair grows in multiple directions, and so to get it all, you need to shave in all directions. I have done this now for a week, and it really works!! However - warning - I told a friend about it and she cut herself the first time she tried it - so be careful!

But for summer-sweet arms, this is what works for me! For more tips, visit Works for Me Wednesdays at We Are That Family!

Bad News Bears

K plays soccer. She is in the local league, and is still young enough that they are mixed gender and - most importantly - don't keep score. This is good. Except when we play 90% of the other teams in the league - who keep score themselves. and I don't mean the kids- I mean the parents. This is not a travelling league or anything - this is the little fun league you pay like $30 for, and it is simple and relaxing. except for the parents of the other kids. Seriously - this is soccer for 6 and 7 year olds. CHILL OUT!

I will admit, our team sucks. SUCKS. They often kick the ball to their end of the field, nowhere near the net, out of bounds, and cheer as if they scored a goal. We had a game a few weeks ago where only 5 of our players showed up, so instead of fielding 2 teams of 6x6, we had less than one. Last week the opposing team scored 4 goals in the first 5 minutes (not that we were keeping score). So we suck. But our kids are nice, and sweet, and don't knock the other kids down or talk smack (???!!!) to the other team. Who are these kids - more importantly who are the parents of these kids. CHILL OUT people!

But this week was heaven. At first we were nervous, we were playing a team with the same name and uniform as ours. We couldn't figure out how this would work. Luckily, the kids didn't care - and even more miraculously, the parents didn't care. The kids just went out there and had fun! They enjoyed playing with each other. We all cheered for the red team - which was EVERYBODY! The kids applauded each other when they did well. It was really fantastic.

I am all for competition - but these kids are 6-7. Give them a break, let them have fun. And this weekend was awesome. At the end we all (some of us very seriously) considered leaving the league and just having our two teams play each other for the rest of the season!

The Birds and the Bees

So we have yet to have "the talk" with any of the kids. K just turned 7. B is nearly 5 and Big Man is 2 1/2. I am not opposed to giving them information - but they haven't asked. A friend of mine just sat her nearly 7 year old down and told her the basics about sex. I don't feel like I need to do that yet. If K asked, I would tell her, but she hasn't.

Along the same lines, one of the families brought up the idea that this summer on our beach vacation (7 families - 13 kids under the age of 9), we should separate the kids rooms by boy/girl. Average age of the kids is about 6. We had the discussion, and decided it would make too big a thing of it to do it this year, so we are going to wait until next year. Frankly, I couldn't figure a way to tell the kids why we were doing it that didn't give them curiosity they don't currently have.

Am I totally naive? Like I said, if K asked, I would tell her at this point. But she hasn't. Do I need to sit her down and tell her? I was thinking I could wait a year or so. Thoughts?

Blog Readers

So I read a lot of blogs. (current count=136). I read mom blogs, crafting blogs, diet blogs, foodie blogs, a few political blogs, and shopping blogs.

I could NOT do it without a feed reader. Basically, a feed reader keeps track of all your favorite blogs so that you only read ones with new content. That means I can check in with all 136 blogs in about an hour, sometimes less. I love it.

I use Bloglines. It is not perfect - sometimes it has glitches- but I am used to it, and not prepared to have to move all 136 blogs to some other service. Unless someone has a really good one? I love feed readers, its what works for me! For other works for me tips, visit: http://www.wearethatfamily.com/2009/05/wfmw-my-organizing-secret.html

Happy Mother's Day

I had a great mom's day yesterday. First, the kids brought me "breakfast" in bed. Sadly, because I was still on the incredibly restrictive carb-deplete first week of my diet - breakfast consisted of 3 pieces of salami and a glass of iced tea. But it was delivered to me in bed with presents and cards in tow. Big Man's teachers are so creative - last week we had to bring in a old shoe. The kids decorated them with stickers and glitter and pompoms and they put a small potted pansy in it. SOOO Cute! K made me a beautiful ceramic bowl. And B made a very nice card with a picture of her swinging and me pushing her.

Then DH took all the kids out grocery shopping (thank goodness for the "cookie store"), while I cleaned the house. I know that sounds terrible - but I really wanted to do it. I cleaned out our big garden window in the kitchen and our pass-through and they look so great. It made me very happy. I also cleaned my scrapbook area (but have yet to do any actual scrapbooking in forever!).

In the afternoon I went out to do a little shopping on my own. First I hit Michael's for some crafting supplies. Next door was a Ritz Camera that was going out of business. I scored a cartridge for my color printer that normally retails for $25 for $5.25!! THEN I went to Goodwill, scored 5 shirts, 2 sweaters, 2 skirts, 2 cute belts (one NEW with tags), and pair of sneakers for Big Man for....(wait for it)......$15.75!!!! The guy at the checkout asked if I was a mom. When I said yes, he said, "$15.75 for all of it." I was like, what??!! He said, yup, mother's day special! Not sure what that was about - but YAY!

When I got home the kids and I hit the porch and front yard to plant some flowers I had bought - and them some bubble-fun. K had got a bunch of fun wands for her bday and so we had a blast.

MIL & Grampy came over for dinner of hamburgers on the grill and some bridge. Big Man liked showing Grampy how to blow bubbles - "GRAMPY - FIRST YOU DIP, THEN YOU BLOW!!" All in all really a fabulous day. Some time to myself, great bargains, and fun with the family. What more can you ask for?

I've Got a Crush On You

I admit it...I love Michelle Obama. Really, I do. I really can't understand why she is not my best friend!

Seriously though, I am obsessed with her fashion sense. With the exception of her inaugural night dress (which i HATED) - I love everything she wears. I also love her arms and am working to get something like them (in my dreams). Since she has become First Lady, I now own probably 6 cardigans in various colors and sleeve length. I also own the dress she wore on the cover of Essence. I covet all her cool brooches and pins, and have tried to wear more stuff like that on a regular basis. I also just bought the book Michelle Style, with pictures and descriptions of her iconic looks. I regularly read http://www.mrs-o.org/.

I love everything she stands for and supports too, but this is just focusing on the clothes. I have yet to see her in person here in DC..but I have high hopes. Just call me a lazy stalker.

and I run...I run so far away

So this weekend I did 2 5ks. I do not recommend this unless you are an actual serious runner. I run 2-2.5 miles a few times a week on a good week. But this weekend there was the Race for Hope in DC. I have a colleague with a brain tumor, so I started a team with my office for that one.

On Saturday, K had a fundraiser for her school. We missed it last year, so I had promised her we could do it this year. The good thing was that we walked most of that one. The kids all took off from the school at a full out run. The parents were all jogging behind. After about 6 blocks the kids were all walking. I caught up to K, and suggested we run slowly. She wanted to walk. So we walked about 1/2 mile..then I got her to run for about 1/2 mile. Then she walked the rest of the way. The last 1/2 mile I had to pretty much drag her. I could barely even get her to run past our house (only a few doors from the finish line) so DH and K's siblings could cheer for us. But it was fun. And K thinks I am nuts for running that far ever.

Sunday's race was fun. It was raining - kind of a lot. But it was still inspiring and fun cuz we had about 18 people from my office do it too. I missed my goal time by 9 seconds. I finished in 40.08 - I really wanted to finish in under 40. I blame it on having to tie my shoes about 1/2 mile in as they came completely untied. (I'm sure it wasn't walking the block in the middle).

Oh well. The good news is that this weekend also signifies my renewed efforts for weight loss. Since last summer I have lost about 40 lbs. But I am now getting into some bad habits again, so I am recommitting. I will again do the Crack the Fat Loss Code plan - which is high protein, low carb, low fat. I will commit to working out at least 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. Plus some Wii Fit on the side. My goal is 10 more pounds before our beach trip in late June/early July.

Funny Meme

I don't do a lot of memes, but I thought this one was funny. Found it on Brownie Points.

• metal or non-stick? - non-stick, mostly.
  
• cast iron or stainless? stainless, mostly.
  
• cutting board: silicon or wood? wood is my preferred. Don't tell me about germs, don't want to know.
  
• knife: carbon steel or stainless? stainless - cutco!
  
• Kitchen Aide or hand mixer? both! Love my kitchen aide, but sometimes whip out the hand-mixer too.
  
• cooktop: gas, electric, induction? electric. I know I know
  
• side-by-side, freezer on top, fridge on top? Freezer on top, and separate stand alone upright freezer in the basement.
  
• apron or whoops? whoops. Although I LOVE these aprons (mother's day is coming up!)
  
• mashed potatoes: by hand, ricer, or mixer? mixer
  
• sandwich or wrap? hmm...not a big sandwich/wrap person - going with sandwich
  
• pb & _________ ? ick. pb is only good in cookies or candy with chocolate heavily involved
  
• pancakes: syrup or applesauce? ewww...no pancakes - waffles with syrup or strawberries and cream
  
• cake: scratch or mix? mix - although I love me some mix dr
  
• chili: beans or no? - NO
  
• napkin: cloth or paper? paper ( i know, environmentally bad!)
  
• BBQ: takes the whole weekend to make or take out? both! love take-out, love ribs when DH makes them from scratch!
  
• chicken: white or dark? white (although I am ok with dark meat turkey. Strange...)
  
• ice cream: cone or dish? cone - but cake cone - no sugar.

how 'bout you?

She's Growing Up

So I mentioned that K turned 7 last weekend. I took her on Friday for her annual checkup. After the normal stuff (yes, she is still super tall, everything looks great) the Dr mentioned that the American Academy of Pediatrics is now recommending kids get a Hepatitis A shot (I think it was). But it was still optional. She gave me the literature and we talked about it, and I decided ok. But I had told K that she didn't have to get any shots at 7.

So I told her that she would have to get it this year or next year (and the following, since it is 2 doses!), but she could decide. Did she want to get it immediately - or wait until next year. I figured she would say next year, to put it off as long as possible. But no, she said now. She said she didn't want to worry about it for a year, so she'd rather just get it.

SOOOO MATURE! Both me and the Dr were shocked. My little girl is growing up.